Acheron
Acheron (translated to mean "river of pain") is a Makuta from the Prime Universe. Being the 101st Makuta, Acheron, unlike the rest of his kind, wasn't created by Mata-Nui, but instead by Makuta Teridax. History Creation and Awakening With his recent success of conquering the Matoran Universe, Teridax realized truly anything was possible. Anything, including his own death. As the days passed, paranoia settled into his mind, until he devised of a plan; a plan that, in the event of his death, would leave his legacy remembered instead of forgotten. Using Matoran he had enslaved, Teridax had them scour and search every possible location for information on how to create new Makuta as the great spirit had 100,000 years before. Though initially unsuccessful, experimentation with the substance Antidermis caused Teridax to accidentally learn how to create new Makuta, and using a significant amount of his own Antidermis, as well as whatever supply was available to him, the first Makuta in millennia came into existence. Teridax chose to name this Makuta Acheron, for he was sure that, if awakened, it would unleash rivers of pain upon his foes. Eventually, Teridax's greatest fear came to pass. During a battle with Mata-Nui, who occupied a prototype robot, Teridax was shoved into the path of a falling fragment of Aqua Magna, which struck his head, killing him. As his spirit receded, the genesis chamber in which Acheron was being held activated, though the device that was meant to upload artificial memories malfunctioned, leaving him as a blank slate. Eventually discovering his identity by watching security recordings of his creation, Acheron made a decision; to forswear whatever plans and wills his "father" had intended for him. Teridax had infused a significant portion of his own Antidermis into Acheron so that he could never truly die, but with that Acheron developed the mindset that he was above all other Makuta, and therefore refused to carry out the wills of his "father", creator or not. With this decision made, Acheron left the collapsed Great Spirit Robot. Wandering the world For years after escaping the robot, Acheron wandered Spherus Magna in search of a greater purpose, at times encountering all manner of sentient beings, from Skraal and Skakdi still devastated by the defeat of Teridax, to tribes of Matoran and Agori living in peace since the restoration of the planet. Stories of those who encountered a "Flaming Shadow" began spreading to every corner of the world, and before long news of these encounters reached the ears of the Order of Mata Nui. Helryx, leader of The Order, managed to persuade Makuta Miserix to track the source of these tales, and eliminate it if deemed necessary. Weeks after being sent out, Miserix did find the source, and upon coming face to face with Acheron, he sensed a familiar presence in Acheron; the presence of the one who overthrew him and sentenced him to death. Blinded by rage and mistaking him for Teridax, Miserix attacked Acheron relentlessly. The two fought a fierce battle, and by the end of it both were exhausted and weary, but Miserix refused to cease his assault, and used his shadow hand in an attempt to absorb Acheron. Battered and tired, Acheron, in those seeming final moments, felt an emotion Makuta seldom feel if at all; fear. It was at that moment that his mask began to glow, and mere seconds before Miserix's attack could reach him, Acheron vanished. Acheron found himself alive. Looking to see where Miserix had gone, he instead discovered that he was no longer on Spherus Magna, or at least not the proper Spherus Magna. Everything around him was dark, Literal shadows of what it would be on Spherus Magna. The sky was grey, a black sun shining high above him. Acheron eventually spotted Miserix, but as everything else in this strange world, it was a shadow of what should be. The Shadow of Miserix searched the area, for hours on end, before giving up and leaving. Contemplating what just happened, Acheron surmised that he must have activated his mask. Kanohi had never meant much to him before, as he had little knowledge on how to use them, but his suddenly became important to him then. Traveling to the nearest library under the cover of darkness, Acheron searched for a scroll or book that could tell him what his Kanohi was. Eventually he found what he was looking for. He was gifted with a legendary mask. The Kanohi Arkanax, mask of the Dark Realm. Joining the Order of Mata Nui After his encounter with Acheron, Miserix reported to Helryx about what had occurred, telling the leader of The Order that he believed Teridax had survived his battle with Mata-Nui and should be destroyed immediately. Helryx agreed to this, however she believed this being wasn't Teridax, but instead perhaps an impostor or a misidentified Makuta, theories which she kept to herself as to not agitate the already flustered Miserix. Months had passed before reports of the "Flaming Shadow" began to spread again, and Helryx summoned Miserix, as well as the alternate universe Teridax and Axonn, to deal with this potential new foe. Again Acheron was found, but before Miserix could attack, Helryx ordered him to stand down, to give Acheron a chance to explain himself; who he was, what his intentions were. Acheron told them of how he came into existence, being the 101st Makuta, the only one to not have been created by the Great Spirit, what his "father" had intended for him to be and to do, why he refused to be the puppet of a dead Makuta, and what he had been doing since his life began. Axonn, who had been using his Rode while Acheron spoke, saw no lies within the words of the Makuta, and the alternate Teridax didn't sense the malice of his prime universe counterpart within Acheron, and both let Helryx know of this. Helryx then, with great objection by Miserix, offered Acheron a position within the Order of Mata-Nui, if he could prove himself capable. Dark Hunters were as persistent a problem as usual to the order, but four in particular were being a true threat to the citizens of Spherus Magna, as they were attempting to abduct Matoran and Agori for unknown purposes. The Toa Mata and their new Glatorian allies had managed to keep them at bay, but their efforts could not be kept up for too much longer. Helryx gave Acheron a choice; if he wanted to join the order, he would track down these Dark Hunters, and make sure they would no longer be a problem to anyone. The order members then left him to do as he would. Axonn and the alternate Teridax both thought Acheron would vanish again, and Miserix believed he would fail in his assignment, hoping he would perish, as to no longer be of any concern to him. Helryx, however, believed Acheron would succeed, go beyond her expectations even, and indeed she was correct. Less than a week after being given his assignment, Acheron arrived at the Order headquarters, with three masks and a live Dark Hunter. The Dark Hunter, identifying himself as Tauros, was presented to Helryx, forced to his knees, while Acheron informed her of what had happened over the past few days. Acheron had located the Hunter's temporary hideout, and gave them the choice to depart willingly. Not knowing what he was, they laughed, then attacked. Managing to overcome them all using his physical strength alone, Acheron managed to kill three of them, leaving only Tauros, and proceeded to bring him to the Order. Helryx offered the Hunter freedom from the Order if he would reveal why the Dark hunters were attempting to abduct Matoran and Agori. Tauros refused, and at that moment Acheron's tail closed around Tauros' neck, and burst into flame. Moments of screaming passed before Tauros relented, and told them of his mission; to capture Matoran and Agori to interrogate for the whereabouts of the Ignika, which The Shadowed One believed he could use to bend Spherus Magna to his will. When Helryx believed she had gotten enough information from him, Acheron opened a portal to the Dark Realm and threw Tauros through, to be dealt with later. Helryx then approached Acheron. She did not fully agree with his methods of getting prisoners to talk, and she let him know of this, but she was impressed with his results, saying he went above and beyond her expectations. Helryx once again offered Acheron a place within the Order, and he accepted. Traits and Personality Acheron is brash and at times overconfident, and displays a massive superiority complex when in conflict with others, as a typical Makuta. However, he does not act as such when allies, superiors (however few he sees as superiors within the Order), or those few individuals he considers his friends are involved, treating his "friends" with such respect that they often (jokingly) question if he is a true Makuta. Despite this, he has a deep hatred for other Makuta, as his encounter with Miserix (the first Makuta he came into contact with) gave him reason to be mistrusting towards others of his kind, even towards the alternate universe Teridax, who in many ways is the complete opposite of the Makuta of the prime universe. Powers As with all other Makuta of the prime universe, Acheron has control over shadow, as well as the 42 individual Rahkshi powers. Interestingly, he also commands power over Fire, a side effect of one of Teridax's experiments, making him unique among Makuta of the prime universe. He has been shown to have Toa levels of mastery over this element, sometimes even greater than Toa, putting those who have Fire powers of their own at somewhat of a disadvantage when fighting against him. Due to being recently created, Acheron unlike other Makuta does not yet need shape-shifting armor to contain an Anti-dermal essence, and it is possible that he would not need such an armor. Only time will tell. Though not considered a power itself, due to Acheron still being comprised of solid Antidermis, he does not share the weaknesses to Gravity and Magnetism as other Makuta do. Weapons and Tools Before Joining the Order of Mata Nui, Acheron had no weapons save for his claws and tail, the tail ending in a pair of sharp pincers. Using his command over fire, he can heat both up to unbearable temperatures. A favored technique of his is to set the end of his tail aflame and either use it as a flailing weapon or to grab his foe and let them burn over time, which can be useful as a method of torture against Dark Hunters. After joining the Order, Acheron was gifted a pair of Energized Protosteel blades. They function similar to a lightsaber, when not in use they're merely a pair of hilts which Acheron stores on his back, but when activated emit a retractable blade of energy. Though made of energy, the blades act as though they were solid, and despite being made of energy they are unable to cut through another object using heat. The blades color reflect the emotions of the wielder, and are often a fiery orange when used by Acheron, signifying his rage and anger in combat. Quotes "Words of reason often fall on deaf ears, and therefore are a waste of time. I am one who believes in getting the point across by simple destruction, for destruction, you see, is a language everyone understands." "Dark Hunters disgust me. They act high and mighty, above everyone else, but one well thrown stone reduces their castles of glass to nothing more than the grains of sand which make them up." Trivia * Acheron was originally conceived as SonofSarkhan's iteration of Gen. 2 Teridax. * Acheron's design is loosely based on the Balrog in Peter Jackson's The Lord of The Rings film trilogy. This comparison is further evident when one considers Acheron's power over Fire. * Acheron is one of SonofSarkhan's Self-MOCs.